More Mainers are likely to go hungry under the food assistance cuts signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Good Shepherd Food Bank warned Wednesday that Trump’s megabill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, could shift about $60 million in food assistance onto the state government. That would mean Mainers losing about 20 million meals.
“We know that good policies can reduce hunger and improve health, and we are grateful for Maine’s four members of Congress who stood with us in opposition to this bill,” Heather Paquette, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank, said in a statement. “This legislation is a significant setback for people and communities already facing barriers to accessing the food and resources they need to live full lives. Maine’s food insecurity rate is higher than the national average and includes 20% of our children who are currently living in food insecure homes. People in Maine work hard every day to build better lives, but they need a strong foundation to succeed. Access to food and health care is that foundation.”
Under the megabill, which Trump signed into law on July 4, Republicans offset tax cuts with, among other things, $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade and swell the ranks of Americans without health insurance by nearly 12 million people, The Associated Press reported.
In Maine, 1 in 10 households are classified as food insecure, according to the state government, citing data from 2021-23, the most recent available. That’s down from 1 in 5 from 2012-14, the highest rate of food insecurity in the past two decades.
Mainers are classified as food insecure if they worry about running out of food before they can afford more, not being able to afford balanced meals, or skipping or cutting back on meals because of cost, among other factors.
